Curb Service at Kilwin's

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Karen Piehutkoski, who owns the store with daughter Chera Tramontin, says they started the service about a year ago, when it was so hard to find a place to park that people would repeatedly circle the block. "I thought people could just call, put in their order, and we'd wrap up a half-pound of raspberry creams or whatever and run them out," says Piehutkoski. "Unfortunately, now it's not hard to get a parking place."

Ann Arbor Kilwin's is the first franchise of the chain, which started in 1947 in Petoskey. Piehutkoski opened her shop in January 1983, in time for Valentine's Day. Back then, she says, downtown was in something of a slump, so everyone was excited about the new shop. They carry more than a hundred different chocolates and confections, all made on site or in the Petoskey kitchen. The ice cream, too, comes from Petoskey. They always have twenty-eight flavors on hand, though not always the same ones.